After Lincoln
by TheLokiEffect
Summary: I'm not really sure where this is going, but basically after Lincoln's death, Daisy locks herself in her room and refuses to talk to anyone. Mack is sent on a mission, and finally gets her to come out to say goodbye. Will Mack come back from his mission? Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except for the plot**

 **AN: Looking for a beta if anyone is interested. Please review!**

 **Coulson's POV**

" **Mack, are you sure you can't stay?" I know as soon as I ask what his answer will be. He shakes his head. "I'm sorry director. I hate seeing her like this, and there's nothing I can do to help her here. This mission will at least give me something meaningful to do." I nod, knowing what he means. We all felt helpless in the face of Skye-** _ **Daisy'**_ **s grief, but as her partner Mack felt it the most. So far the only thing any of us had been able to do was stand outside her room, listening to the heavy silence and knocking to no avail. She wouldn't eat, didn't sleep, and for the most part, didn't move. "Stay safe out there. Try to make contact as soon as possible," I say, standing up to shake Mack's hand. This will be the last time I see him for awhile. "Will do, Director," Mack shakes my hand and walks away, heading to Daisy's room, and I know he's going to try to say goodbye to her. I wonder how much luck he'll have.**

 **Mack's POV**

I walk to Daisy's room, knowing the chances of getting a response are slim. Still, I can't just leave without telling her goodbye. I knock on the door. "Open up Tremors. I'm leaving and you gotta tell me goodbye." To my surprise the door opens only a minute or so later. I'm greeted with Daisy's pale, tired face. The shadows under her eyes were more prominent than I'd ever seen, and though there were no tears on her face, her pain was obvious. I'd never seen her look so exhausted and beaten down. It was enough to make _me_ want to cry. "You're leaving?" Her voice is so small; she sounds nothing like the girl I once knew. "Yeah, I'm going on assignment. Don't worry, I'll be back soon, ready to kick your butt in COD," I tell her. She doesn't need to know how dangerous the mission is, or how uncertain my return is. She gives me a faint smile that doesn't reach her eyes, and steps forward to give me a hug. "Stay safe," she whispers. I nod but all I'm thinking about is how I can feel every bone in her body when I put my arms around her. "You too," I say. "Eat something, okay?" "Okay," she says. I give her one last hug, then head to the hangar. I look back once, and see her still standing outside her door, watching me leave. I wave and she returns it halfheartedly. "Goodbye Tremors," I say under my breath.

 **Daisy's POV**

 **I lean against my door, rendered motionless by the heavy sense of loss weighing on my chest. Lincoln was gone; he would never return. Now I'm watching Mack walk away, and who knows if I'll see him again. I wish he'd stay, but I can't ask him to stay for me, especially when all I've been doing since Lincoln's death is sitting in the corner of my room, refusing to speak to anyone. I turn around as the sound of footsteps approaches. "He left," I say, hearing how broken my voice sounded and hating myself for it. "I know," Coulson replies. "I'm sorry." It's not his fault, it's part of the job. I shouldn't be taking it so hard. "He'll be okay, right," I ask. "You know I can't promise that. I certainly hope so. He has everything he needs, and he's very capable. I'm confident he'll return." Coulson moves forward to give me hug, and I let him, needing his gentle reassurance. "You know, I heard Mack say he was going to kick your butt at COD when he came back. You should come downstairs and get some practice in. Can't go down without a fight, right?" Coulson said. I looked at him and saw the worry in his face. I felt a twinge of guilt for worrying him so much. "Right," I say. Coulson smiled and told me he'd have Fitz get the game set up. I nodded. "Thank you," I whispered as he walked away.**

 **Coulson's POV**

 **I heard Daisy whisper "thank you" as I walked away. I smiled. It was a shame that it took Mack leaving to get her out of her room, but I'd take what I could get. I headed to lounge where hopefully Fitz would be sitting. He spent most of his time in the lab with Gemma, but he had also started spending a lot of time with Hunter and Mack in the lounge, usually playing a video game. When I got to the lounge, I was happy to see that Fitz was in fact in the lounge, sitting on the couch with Hunter. "Hey guys, can you make room for a third player?" Fitz and Hunter turned to me, grinning. "Sure Director, take a seat," Hunter said. "Thanks, but I was talking about Daisy. Mack was able to get her out of her room before he left, and I think I have her convinced to come down here," I said. "Really?" Fitz asked. I nodded. "Well, that's great. So she's doing better then?" Fitz said. "Still pretty upset, but hopefully coming down here will help her get on the right track," I said.**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except for the plot**

 **AN: Looking for a beta if anyone is interested. Please review!**

Daisy's POV

I didn't really feel like going downstairs and seeing anyone, but seeing the concern on Coulson's and Mack's faces made me feel guilty about locking myself in my room and ignoring everyone. I know Lincoln wouldn't have liked my coping strategy, and I had known that everyday as I sat in my room motionless and silent. But Lincoln wasn't there, and my grief rendered me incapable of caring for the opinion of a ghost. But Mack was there, everyday, knocking on my door and begging me to eat something. I'm half convinced he left because of me, and that wakes me up in a way nothing else would. And Coulson _is_ here, worried and stressed. It's time to return to the real world. So, I take a shower and get dressed. It's progress, but the weight on my chest is still there, and the heavy sense of loss. I eat a little of the food on my tray, but I don't feel hungry and the food doesn't look all that appetizing. I give up trying to eat the scrambled eggs and toast, taking the apple instead. I straighten the room a little, but I haven't moved much and there's not much to do. It looks mostly untouched, and this strikes me as odd. I feel like I should've thrown things, screamed and cried. I should've lost control of my powers, shook the whole base. Maybe gone down to the training room and beaten a punching bag to death. I think maybe that's the sort of thing people do when the pain is sharp and stabbing, and what I'm feeling is a hollowness, a sense of loss so deep it feels like a weight on my chest and in my heart. Anyway, I'm glad I didn't lose control of my powers. I don't want to accidentally bring down the base. After I finished, there was nothing left to do so I took a deep breath, and headed to the lounge.

Fitz POV

"Do you think she'll really come down?" Hunter asked. " I don't know. Coulson seemed pretty confident that she would," I say. I hope she does. I knew Lincoln meant a lot to her, but she needed to get out of her self-created prison. Besides, Lincoln wouldn't have wanted her to shut down and waste away, which was what she was doing. Hunter nodded and returned to the game. I decided to get up and get a snack. If Daisy did come down, maybe I could get her to eat something. "Hey Hunter, you feel like some popcorn?" I ask. "Sure. Go heavy on the butter if you don't mind," he answered. I nodded, forgetting he couldn't see me.

"Could you make enough for one more person?" a quiet voice says. Hunter and I turn toward the door at the same time to see Daisy standing there nervously. I could tell she was uncomfortable, so I just told her that it was no problem, like it wasn't unusual at all for her to be here. "Come sit Johnson. I've got the high score now, just so you know," Hunter teased. Daisy grinned and grabbed a controller. "Not for long," she said. I smiled. It was almost like old times.

 **AN: Sorry this chapter is so short, but I've got some writer's block. I've got ideas, but I just didn't think they belonged in this chapter. Please review! And I'm still needing a beta if anyone's interested. I know I said both of those things at the beginning of the chapter, but oh well.**


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